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Playing Baroque Compositions on the Piano: Learning from the Harpsichord

Instructor's Name:

Jory Vinikour

Sunday, January 31, 2016 - 2:00pm to 5:30pm

3137 Aberfoyle Place, NW Washington DC 20015

About Master Class:

Renowned harpsichordist, Jory Vinikour, will lead a Master Class at Aberfoyle Baroque on the topic "Playing Baroque Compositions on the Piano: Learning from the Harpsichord".

Class Instructor, Jory Vinikour, will discuss how the harpsichord's characteristics influenced music written by Baroque composers. These early keyboards differ markedly from the modern day piano in that they have a very light touch, lack dynamic range, pluck rather than hit the strings and do not have a sustain pedal. Baroque composers obviously wrote their music to accommodate the harpsichord's features, emphasizing phrasing, utilizing plentiful and diverse ornamentation, and adopting techniques such as short- and long-holding of keys to make the music expressive and engaging. A deeper understanding of these practices, and increased knowledge about how the Baroque compositions were performed on the harpsichord, can greatly assist pianists' interpretation and performance of these pieces on the modern day piano

About the Instructor:

Two time Grammy® Award nominated harpsichordist Jory Vinikour is recognized as one of the outstanding musicians of his generation. A highly diversified career brings him to the world’s most important festivals and concert halls as recital and concerto soloist, and partner to several of today’s finest artists.

Born in Chicago, Jory Vinikour studied in Paris with Huguette Dreyfus and Kenneth Gilbert on a Fulbright scholarship. First Prizes in the International Harpsichord Competitions of Warsaw (1993) and the Prague Spring Festival (1994) brought him to the public’s attention, and he has since appeared in festivals and concert series throughout much of the world.

Well-known as an accompanist, he has worked extensively with artists such as David Daniels, Hélène Delavault, Vivica Genaux, Magdalena Kozena, Annick Massis, Marijana Mijanovic, Dorothea Röschmann, Rolando Villazon... He has accompanied legendary Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter in recitals in Sweden, Norway, Spain and Paris and at La Scala in Milan. With lutenist Jakob Lindberg, their programme of English and Italian music of the 17th century, entitled Music for a While was released by Deutsche Grammophon in early 2005.

As an active exponent of contemporary repertoire for the harpsichord, he has given the premieres of works by composers such as Harold Meltzer and Frédéric Durieux, Stephen Blumberg, Patricia Morehead, Graham Lynch, etc. written for him. He has also given important performances of works by Gyorgy Ligeti and Michael Nyman, as well as several 20th century concerti, including Cyril Scott’s 1937 Harpsichord Concerto, which Mr. Vinikour prepared and edited for Novello editions.

Mr. Vinikour appears regularly as harpsichordist at the finest opera houses and festivals in Europe : Paris Opera, Netherlands Opera, Salzburg Festival, Teatro Real de Madrid, Baden-Baden, Glyndebourne, etc. in Baroque and Classical repertoire, as well as in more contemporary works (notably Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress and Zimmermann's Die Soldaten) and is heard on many recordings from Deutsche Grammophon, EMI, Erato, Sony Classics et al.

His recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, released on Delos International in 2001 received excellent reviews throughout the world. John von Rhein of the Chicago Tribune named it as one of 2001’s top ten classical CD’s, an honor that was also accorded to Mr. Vinikour’s recording of Bach’s Toccatas in 1999. Mr. Vinikour’s 2009 Delos release of Handel’s 1720 Suites for Harpsichord has received wide critical acclaim (American Record Guide naming it the finest recording of these works). His debut recording for Sono Luminus, the complete harpsichord works of Jean-Philippe Rameau, was nominated for a Grammy® award, in the category of Best Classical Solo Instrumental Recording in 2013. His follow-up recording, Toccatas (Contemporary American works for harpsichord) received the same honor this year.

Mr. Vinikour has appeared as conductor/soloist with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Musica Angelica, Korea Chamber Orchestra, musicAeterna, Juillard415, Alabama Symphony. Jory Vinikour is Artistic Director and co-founder of Great Lakes Baroque in Milwaukee, and is Artistic Director of the early music program at the Rocky Ridge Music Center.

Participants:

This Class is designed for intermediate- to advanced-level pianists. Class participants may choose to be either Student Performers or Auditors. The number of Student Performers will be limited to three. Kindly note that piano teachers are most welcome to Audit the class but may not participate as Student Performers. The maximum number of Class participants will be 28.

• TO SIGN UP AS A STUDENT PERFORMER:Participants wanting to join the Master Class as Student Performers should print and complete the application form below and email it to AberfoyleBaroque@gmail.com by January 10, 2016. The applicant should specify on the form the piece which he/she will be performing at the Master Class. The pieces selected for performance must have been composed during the Baroque Period, from 1600 to 1750. The piece should be no longer than 4 pages long or 4 minutes of playing time.Three Student Performers will be selected from the pool of applicants by Aberfoyle Baroque with input from the Instructor. In making the selection Aberfoyle Baroque will try to ensure that Performers reflect a mix of ability levels and compositions. Student Performers are expected to have their pieces prepared to a high level of proficiency for the Class. While they will perform their pieces on the piano, they should be prepared to also play excerpts on the harpsichord to facilitate the learning process.

• TO SIGN UP AS AN AUDITOR:To sign up as an Auditor please click the "Sign Up as an Auditor" button and follow the instructions thereafter. Auditors will not perform at the Class but there will be ample opportunities for them to engage in discussions and ask questions. Prior to the Master Class, they will receive information on the pieces Student Performers will be playing.

Schedule:

PLAYING BAROQUE COMPOSITIONS ON THE PIANO:LEARNING FROM THE HARPSICHORD

INSTRUCTOR: JORY VINIKOURTwo time Grammy® Award nominated harpsichordist Jory Vinikour is recognized as one of the outstanding musicians of his generation. A highly diversified career brings him to the world’s most important festivals and concert halls as recital and concerto soloist. Jory is also widely known for his engaging and highly practical approach to instruction.

Born in Chicago, Jory Vinikour studied in Paris with Huguette Dreyfus and Kenneth Gilbert on a Fulbright scholarship. First Prizes in the International Harpsichord Competitions of Warsaw (1993) and the Prague Spring Festival (1994) brought him to the public’s attention, and he has since appeared in festivals and concert series throughout much of the world.Jory appears regularly as harpsichordist at the finest opera houses and festivals in Europe: Paris Opera, Netherlands Opera, Salzburg Festival, Teatro Real de Madrid, Baden-Baden, Glyndebourne, etc. in Baroque and Classical repertoire, as well as in more contemporary works and is heard on many recordings from Deutsche Grammophon, EMI, Erato, Sony Classics et al.

Jory’s recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, released in 200, received excellent reviews throughout the world. His 2009 Delos release of Handel’s 1720 Suites for Harpsichord also received wide critical acclaim (American Record Guide naming it the finest recording of these works). His recording of the complete harpsichord works of Jean-Philippe Rameau was nominated for a Grammy® award in the category of Best Classical Solo Instrumental Recording in 2013. His follow-up recording, Toccatas (Contemporary American works for harpsichord) received the same honor in 2015.

Fees:

The fees for participating in the Master Class are as follows:

Auditors (maximum of 23): $50

Student Performers (maximum of 3): $65

Master Class

Instruments:

The instruments will include a Steinway Model “B” and a Double Manual Harpsichord built by William Dowd.

Aberfoyle Baroque reserves the right to take photographs of this event and record short snippets of discussions and performances to post on its social media. Aberfoyle Baroque will not share participants’ contact information with other entities.